The Austin Burger Bucket List: 27 Burgers to Eat Before You Die

Burgers -- like their cousins, “pizza” and “taco” -- are perfect creations. Every food group is represented, and they are a constant reminder of a simpler time... you know, before molecular gastronomy and Drake memes. Now, there are a lot of places making burgers in Austin, but only the best of the best stake a claim to our bucket list. Set out to conquer these 27 meat patties, which run the gamut: cheesy, elegant, greasy, divey, gluttonous, unexpected, spicy, rustic, and just plain perfect.

The Dude

Lebowski's Grill

North Burnet Road

The kitschy grill inside Highland Lanes serves up delectably greasy burgers, the kind that are somehow more delicious because you’re in a bowling alley. We like to keep it simple with The Dude, a half-pound Angus patty with pickles, tomatoes, onions, mayo, and mustard.

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VOX burger

VOX Table

South Lamar

During brunch hours (Saturday and Sunday, 11am-2pm), VOX Table offers its new VOX burger with blended wagyu and Angus beef, tomato, VOX Sauce, house pickles, either goat or Cheddar cheese, and a side of onion rings. Paired with some $3 mimosas, this burger equals a serious weekend win.

Wagyu brisket burger

Vince Young Steakhouse

Downtown

Along with its melt-in-your-mouth perfect steaks, Vince Young Steakhouse has a killer wagyu brisket burger with cheddar, house-made pickles, and hand-cut fries. Pro tip: the normally $23 burger is only $10 during happy hour (Monday-Saturday, 5-7pm) in the restaurant’s bar/lounge.

Charcoal cheeseburger

Top Notch

Crestview

Old-school drive-in Top Notch is known for its distinctly smoky burgers, achieved via charcoal broiling. The burger choices here are fairly simple, but we think you can’t go wrong with the classic cheeseburger.

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Pan-roasted Black Angus hamburger

Clark's Oyster Bar

Clarksville

The well-loved, tall burger at Clark’s is made up of Black Angus beef (best when medium-rare), melted Gruyère cheese, and gribiche sauce (mayo-style sauce with tangy capers and Worcestershire), and served on a crisp brioche bun. It comes with a pile of shoestring fries perfect for eating by the handful.

Bac'n Cheeze Burger

Arlo's

East Cesar Chavez & other locations

The vegan food truck has burgers that are so ridiculously packed with flavor that you forget you’re not eating meat. Get the munchie-worthy Bac'n Cheeze Burger, which has a house-made soy & gluten-free patty, house-made seitan “bac'n," melted “cheeze," vegan mayo, ketchup, and veggies. You’ll find Arlo’s trucks at Cheer Up Charlies, The Grackle, and Spider House.

Sirloin bacon cheeseburger

Luke's Inside Out

South Lamar

According to many, Luke’s Inside Out makes the best burger in Austin; the intense flavor it manages to pack into its burger is undeniable. Juicy beef, house-made pimento cheese, Roma tomatoes, baby spinach, bacon, and “love sauce” (mayo, mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup) between two not-too-thick buns allow you to get a taste of every component with each bite.

Cobra burger

Billy's on Burnet's

Burnet Road

The no-frills neighborhood bar and grill has its burger game on point. Each one is juicy -- with the right amount of greasiness. Try the legendary Cobra burger, with bacon, grilled jalapeños, cheddar, chipotle mayo, crisp veggies, and a side of fries.

El San Antonio

El Sapo

Downtown

The El San Antonio burger at El Sapo is like a Tex-Mex chalupa stuffed into a burger. It has an-all beef patty, crema Mexicana, Jack cheese, pico, refried black beans, fire-roasted jalapenõs, lettuce, guac, AND a tostada for that perfect crunchy texture.

Lockhart Link burger

Shake Shack

South Lamar & other locations

Before you groan “it’s a chain from New York!”, hear me out. Shake Shack pays homage to its new home with its Lockhart Link burger, a 100% Angus cheeseburger topped with simultaneously juicy/crispy jalapeño cheese sausage from Lockhart’s Kreuz Market, along with mayo-based Shack Sauce & pickles.

Amarillo burger

Casino El Camino

Sixth Street

The bar known for its rockabilly, “old” Austin ‘tude is also known for its Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives-approved burger. Try the famous Amarillo burger: three-quarters of a pound of Angus beef, with serrano chilis, jalapeño Jack cheese, and cilantro mayo.

The Butcher burger

Salt & Time Butcher Shop and Salumeria

East Seventh

The Butcher Burger is exactly what it sounds like: a hulking slab of local beef ground in-house, cooked to medium-rare juiciness, and paired with pickles & mayo on a brioche roll. The equally rustic fries are crisped in savory beef fat.

Burger on sourdough

Lee's Meat Market

Hyde Park

This old-school butcher shop has one of the best burgers in town; the seasoned beef has a nice crispy sear, and comes with classic veggies and your choice of cheese. The sweet sourdough bun puts it over the edge.

Courtesy of Justine's Brasserie

Royale With Cheese

Justine's Brasserie

East Austin

The sexy French restaurant located just off the beaten path has an equally sexy Royale With Cheese. The toasted ciabatta roll holds Angus beef, seared quickly on a very hot grill, with Gruyère cheese, butter lettuce, mayo, and tomato, and served with the ohmygod-I-can’t-stop-eating frites.

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Double slider

Delray Cafe

Central East Austin

Brought to you by the Hunt brothers behind Via 313, this trailer can be found on the patio of brand new “anytime bar” Nickel City, located in the former Longbranch Inn space. Delray Cafe puts out Detroit-style Coney dogs, wings, and other goodies, but it also flips a mean slider -- a double in this case: a pair of 2-ounce beef patties, cheese, and grilled onions on a steamed bun.

Sara Ploof

Bison burger

District Kitchen + Cocktails

Circle C

District Kitchen + Cocktails’ local, seasonal cuisine in an unstuffy atmosphere makes it a neighborhood gem, and the bison burger here is not to be missed. Sharp white Cheddar, romaine lettuce, house-made pickles, farm tomato, red onion, dijonnaise, a fresh-baked brioche bun, and fries are the perfect accoutrements to the juicy bison (yes, buffalo meat) patty. If you've never had bison before, think of it as a really, really lean version of ground beef.

Alison Narro

Bombshell burger

Holy Roller

West Sixth

This new, punk rock diner -- helmed by Callie Speer and Jen Keyser, both formerly of Geraldine’s -- is packing the house with its playful take on Southern fare and craft cocktails. We're deeply in love with the Bombshell burger: a beef patty topped with shaved ham, American cheese, hash browns, house-made ketchup, and a fried egg. Pro tip: Sundays = brunch all day!

Anastacia Uriegas/Thrillist

Cheeseburger

Bonhomie

Allandale

This burger is DE-CA-DENT. Get ready for double-stacked meat, melty cheese, onion, pickle, and dijonnaise between a perfectly buttery bun at Bonhomie, Philip Speer’s French-inspired diner. Try the cheeseburger with a stack of crunchy onion rings served with malt vinegar.

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44 Farms burger

drink.well.

Hyde Park

Punctuation aside, drink.well. is a cocktail enthusiast’s haven, and it also happens to have one of the most crave-worthy burgers in Austin. The 44 Farms burger is a beef patty topped with white Cheddar, bibb lettuce, tomato, pickles, and house sauce on a homemade brioche bun. Pro tip: Add the TenderBelly black pepper bacon. You deserve it.

Cheeseburger

Crown & Anchor Pub

Campus

Crown & Anchor is the quintessential Longhorns football fan haunt; expect hoards of alumni on game day, and a red basket cradling the pub's famous burger. The no-frills cheeseburger is a simple beef patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mustard, and mayo served on a white bun, but it somehow manages to trump even the fanciest of burgers in the flavor department.

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Anastacia Uriegas is a food and drink writer at Thrillist as well as lead scientist at “Anastacia’s Burger Institute & More." Follow her to learn what “More” is at: @anaurie.

A Truly Exhaustive Guide to Austin's Food Truck Parks

Austin’s pretty serious about its love affair with food trucks, but if you’re out with a group of friends, the odds of you all agreeing on eating Greek gyros, Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, or fragrant bowls of curry are pretty remote -- especially after a night of drinking. Fortunately, there’s a solution: food truck parks. These gastronomical gatherings range from permanent outdoor food courts to informal clusters of local vendors, but each offers you the ability to get varied fare like vegan tacos, halal wraps, and burgers, all in the same general area.

Since stumbling across a food truck park is often a matter of luck (unless you know where they are ahead of time), we put together this comprehensive guide to all the (official and unofficial) food truck clusters in Austin, and all the stuff you have to try while you’re there.

David VonDerLinn

Sponsored

8 Cultural Activities To Class Up Your LA Weekend

Sure, it’s great to spend your weekends watching Marvel movies and DVRing Vanderpump Rules on the DL. But sometimes, you want to do something a little more refined. A little more elegant. Perhaps, you’d like to partake in an activity with a little... culture.

If the last “art” exhibit you liked was a beauty influencer's Instagram, it might be time to break out of your routine and tour some of the cultural highlights of Southern California. Luckily, Los Angeles is surrounded by lovely locales that offer the chance to experience fine art, dance, film, and history, all while taking a break from the city. So, plan a weekend day away and visit one of these cultural gems just outside of LA.

The Secret Austin Restaurants You Can Only Find in Gas Stations

Most out-of-towners know Austin as the home of great barbecue, weirdos, festivals, and Longhorns loyalists. What they might not realize, though, is that we locals spend way too much time in our cars, whether it’s a Prius or a pickup. For us, spending an afternoon staring out at the congestion on a construction-blocked I-35 is a fact of life, as miserably inevitable as stubbed toes and tax season.

Other than isolation and air pollution, Austin’s car culture has fostered tons of gas-station restaurants with food of every variety and description. Here are our 10 favorite places in this highway-wrapped city to fuel up while fueling up. Drive safe, and dig in!